Portrait of Bishop John Fisher 1534

Hans Holbein the Younger made this sketch of Bishop John Fisher, probably in England, around 1535. It was done in metalpoint on paper. Bishop Fisher's story tells us a lot about the politics of imagery at that time. Holbein was working for King Henry VIII, who had declared himself head of the Church of England, breaking away from the authority of the Pope in Rome. Fisher refused to accept Henry as the head of the church, remaining loyal to Rome, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. This drawing was made while Fisher was in prison, not long before he was executed for treason. Holbein’s drawing has a dispassionate quality, unflinching in its recording of human detail. To understand a work like this, historians look at letters, court documents, and other records, piecing together the social and institutional context that shaped its creation. The meaning of art is deeply tied to its time.